How much do psychiatrists make in 2026?
Psychiatrists earn a national median of $281,870 a year ($135.51 an hour) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1223). The 25th percentile is $154,150 and the 90th percentile reaches $446,520, while the published 10th percentile of $84,060 reflects residents and fellows inside the same occupational code. Practice model is what separates the middle from the top: community mental health and academic posts sit lowest, hospital and inpatient employment in the middle, and telepsychiatry panels plus cash-pay or concierge outpatient practice at the top, because psychiatry is one of the few specialties where demand routinely exceeds insurance-network supply. Employment is projected to grow 6.1% through 2034 with roughly 900 openings a year. → Full psychiatrist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $281,870 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Psychiatrists earn a national median $281,870/yr ($135.51/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1223); the P10 to P90 range is $84,060 to $446,520.
- Treat the $154,150 25th percentile as the realistic attending floor: the published $84,060 P10 reflects psychiatry residents and fellows in the same occupational code.
- Psychiatry is unusual in that demand exceeds in-network supply, so cash-pay outpatient practice and telepsychiatry panels sit above employed hospital pay rather than below it.
- Employment growth of 6.1% through 2034 with roughly 900 openings a year understates the market: the binding constraint is the number of trained psychiatrists, not employer demand.
US Psychiatrist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do psychiatrists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1223; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1223, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a psychiatrist earn at each career stage?
Psychiatry has no licence tiers above board certification, so the stages below follow the training arc and practice model that the wide OEWS distribution reflects. Each median is anchored to the BLS distribution for SOC 29-1223.
By State
Which states pay psychiatrists the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Psychiatry is the specialty where geography matters least on the upside: multi-state telepsychiatry licensure means a psychiatrist can serve shortage areas remotely, and shortage areas often pay above high-cost metros.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($324,150), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
psychiatrist pay by state — all 9 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay psychiatrists the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by the published metro index. For a specialty with substantial remote practice these are illustrative wage levels, not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a psychiatrist’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does psychiatrist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Psychiatrists sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify psychiatrist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a psychiatrist actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Psychiatrist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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